Al Metro (Fitzroy)

Fo0die dined as a guest of Al Metro and as such, the rating does not give any consideration to customer service.

Opened since end of November 2018, the dad and son duo are hoping to bring a bit of Venice (where both were originally from) to Melbourne through their venue Al Metro. We arrived at the venue on a Friday evening by tram (route 11) from the CBD.

Interior

On entry, there’s a large light wooden table on the left and the kitchen just behind that. The main seating area is on the right and is filled with dark wooden tables. Hanging on the wall is a photo that the owner took himself when he was in Venice; an image of the canal.

While most people know Venice for the canals and gondolas, behind all that are secret gardens which is what the owners want to create with the hanging greenery off the ceilings.

The venue also has a function room upstairs which can host up to 120 people.

Food/Drinks

The A4 laminated menu has a good selection of antipasto, pasta and pizza on one side of the menu. On the other side, bruschetta, sides, kids menu and desserts.

We started with some drinks and antipasto board for two. The board was beautifully presented with meats very thinly sliced (my preference), arancini, meatball, olives and hard cheeses. I note that the menu does not mention arancini, meatball or olives as being part of the antipasto board for two (and does for the four) but we have been advised that there is an option.

For mains, we tried the venue’s specialty; the sharing pasta board (the venue makes their pasta in house!). The sharing pasta board for two normally gives you a choice of two pastas but for review purposes, we were very fortunate and were given three types on our sharing pasta board. The three pastas we had on our half metre board was the pappardelle al funghi which had a thick (a little too thick for my preference but Mr J did not mind it) pappardelle in a lovely creamy mushroom sauce, the spaghetti carbonara which contains no cream and therefore was not spaghetti in a creamy sauce but sauce on the pasta (if you know what I mean) and the gnocchi della mamma which was soft and fluffy with an interesting texture thanks to the poppy seeds on the outside.

Finishing off on a sweet note, the ‘salame al cioccolato’ literally translates to ‘chocolate salami’ and is a traditional Venetian dessert made up of cocoa and cookie pieces. This was beautifully presented with 3 pieces of crumbly and sweet chocolate salami cookie.

Our second dessert was the creamy panna cotta with the perfect consistency between gelatin and cream. This went perfectly with the strawberry compote which Mr J really enjoyed (which is rare!).

Nothing beats freshly made pasta and Al Metro has a good variety of pastas available for diners to pick and choose from. We loved the idea of the sharing boards which we think is perfect for larger groups wanting to try a bit of everything off the menu (between two, it’s slightly cheaper than ordering two pastas separately).

Dishes that make up this review

Antipasto board for 2; selection of cured salumi and Italian cheeses served with grissini ($27)

Sharing pasta board for 2 people; choose up to 2 different types of pasta ($40)